Maid charged with child pornography highlights online dangers

A 28-year-old Indonesian maid has been jailed for three months after live-streaming three children who were naked in the shower. Read on to learn more.

A 28-year-old maid in Hong Kong has been jailed for three months after filming three kids naked in the shower. According to reports, the Indonesian domestic helper live-streamed them via Facebook live.

Indonesia Maid Jailed After Filming Children Naked

The maid has since been identified as Yuni Kristiani, an Indonesian domestic worker. In the live stream video, Yuni films a five-year-old boy bathing naked in a tub. It is obvious from the video that the boy does not want to be filmed.

When he asks if the camera is on, Yuni lies and says it is not. After this, she calls the two other children — seven-year-old fraternal twins — who then shower. She continues to live-stream the three bathing for 17 minutes.

The Indonesian maid jailed allegedly filmed the three children while in the shower without telling them she was filming. | Image source: Pixabay

Reports say the children’s mom had given the maid specific instructions not to take photos or film the children without her approval.

After the video was streamed, a neighbor stumbled upon it on a Facebook page dedicated to domestic helper complaints.

Yuni was then arrested for publishing child pornography. The video has since been deleted.

In Hong Kong, the maximum sentence for such a crime is up to eight years imprisonment. Those found guilty will be fined about HK$2,000,000 (SG$334,934).

Yuni first reasoned that it was the children who filmed themselves. But she later pled guilty to accessing a computer with ill intentions.

How Can You Keep Kids Safe from Being Exploited Online?

Following the incident, the Indonesian consulate in Hong Kong came to the maid’s defence. According to them, Yuni, who is also a mom of two, might not have intended to take the video “for pornographic purposes.”

“There is a cultural difference between HK and Indonesia in expressing love to someone else’s children. For example, hugging and kissing,” explained the consulate to the BBC.

If, in fact, cultural differences were to blame, then employers need to take more time to educate foreign domestic workers.

The Indonesian maid jailed was defended by the consulate, saying it was cultural differences at play. | Image source: Shutterstock

Filming children naked might be an act with no malice in some parts of the world, but the internet is a dangerous place.

Regardless of what her intent was, the fact remains that she published naked children on the internet, where many predators lurk. She was putting them at risk.

To keep your kids safe, don’t forget the following;

Make sure that you can trust those who are given the responsibility to care for them.

Always keep an eye on your maid’s social media activity.

Let your kids know that they can tell you whenever their nanny or maid does something that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Educate kids about how the internet works. Once a post is shared publicly, anyone in the entire world can see it.

Empower them that they have the right to say “No” when people want to take photos or videos of them.

Yuni has since apologized to the family of the children. In the two years she was employed with them, she reportedly did her job well. They have since forgiven her for her actions.